Monthly Archives: July 2010

Giveaway! Gifts Define & Swanky Threads!

Giveaways

This week we have a double giveaway! One person will receive two amazing gifties that are particularly yummy! Hot dog, how can you beat that?

You know I have a special weakness for all things felt. Well, I’m adding the sweet people from GiftsDefine to the list of people whose felted goodies make me weak in the knees.

Spun from the very crafty head of chief design Irma Niekum, GiftsDefine creates quite intricate and beautiful felted friends for your little ones.

For those clever clogs who are already finishing your holiday shopping, please take a moment to add this little gem to your list.  A beautiful monogrammed Christmas tree ornament, which is the first part of today’s giveaway. So cute, eh?

But wait—there is more!  Let’s squeeze a little bit more summer before we head into fall with this sweet yet sassy gingham apron from Swanky Threads as part of this giveaway.

I just love the little ladybug on the shoulder. And gingham always has a special place in my heart. I can’t help it. Particularly when it is extra sparkly cute gingham to boot.

Kelly, the wonderful mastermind behind these sweet aprons has gotten inspiration from her three lovely kids and has even started a t-shirt line for kids.

And don’t worry, she knows mamas like cute aprons too and started a jaunty line of matching aprons for us as well. Hurrah, Kelly!

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is:

  • Simply leave a comment!
  • For a BONUS ENTRY, add us to your reader (that little area on our sidebar) or add us to your Twitter feed! We’re @modernkiddo. If you are already a kiddo twitter fan, then RT the contest for your extra entry!
  • And for one last BONUS entry, CLICK HERE to vote for Modern Kiddo for the Top Mommy Blogs listings. TIP: you will only see the words “Click to Vote” —you won’t see our name—but never fear it will cast a vote for Modern Kiddo when you click! You can do this once day til the giveaway is over. (No need to search for our name or anything!)
  • As always, leave a comment letting us know what you did. Easy peasy!

GOOD LUCK!! We’ve got our fingers crossed for you….

Giveaway ends Friday, August 6th at 11:59PM.

Cape Codder!

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To me, nothing says summer like Cape Cod.  No matter where we lived in the U.S., I knew my summer would involve spending some quality time at Nauset Beach or Namskaket.  My parents would pile us kids into the station wagon with my Dad’s fishing boat towed from behind and head out to Cape Cod.  It was such a magical moment to cross over the Sagamore Bridge and know that you were just a little bit closer to jumping down sand dunes, eating salt water taffy and fishing for blues.

Until I was in my twenties, going to the Cape meant renting a cottage and I personally thought that was half the fun.  Exploring a new house–and all of the unique nooks and crannies special to that house and that summer added so much flavor to each year.  Adopting a special mug from the Moffett house (like the Lady Di one I drank hot chocolate out of every evening) or playing with the bakelite Tiddlywinks at the Chachevadzis house-it all adds up to a collective memory of Cape Cod summers that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Although I’m more than 3,000 miles away from the fried clam strips and horseshoe crabs of Cape Cod, I thought I would find a few bits  out there that remind me of my favorite moments of childhood summer.  I hope one day I can take the Peach to my favorite old haunts on Cape Cod. Until then, I will have to just look for that summery nautical feeling  in other ways, like in this little round up of Cape Cod-inspired clothes found on Etsy. So, on with the show!

This  jaunty outfit seemed perfect for a day picking out candy from the Penny candy store in P-Town. Clam diggers and stripes ahoy!

Of course this linen dressie with simple yet so sweet embroidery is perfect for summer time.  Couldn’t you just see a little girl wearing it to a nice fancy dinner out with her parents? Perhaps Captain Linnell’s?

And a boy could easily wear this to the Captain’s as well.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a salty little tie like this?

You can take a litte bit of Cape Cod’s nautical theme back to the nursery with these great alphabetical prints. A is for anchor!

What would Cape Cod be without a good lobster? Or lobster t-shirt–like this sweet one.

Let’s just go the distance with the nautical theme. Ahoy matey indeed!  Couldn’t you just see this worn by a little ring bearer at a beach wedding? Kinda awesome, eh?

But what would a little Cape Cod round up be without a tot beach hat included. And this red one is so sweet and yummy.

You know I love upcycling of t-shirts. And this button cute blue and white t-shirt dress would have been perfect to toss over a little swimsuit to go out for ice cream after a day at the beach.

Maybe next year, I’ll get out there with the Peach and my sweetie and introduce her to my childhood. I hope she likes clam chowder!

Modern Kiddo Chit Chat: An Interview with Mila’s Daydreams.

Art + Design, ,

This week I’m soooo excited to bring you a special interview with Adele Enersen, of the charming blog Mila’s Daydreams. A week or so ago, Dottie sent me a link to Adele’s site and I was smitten! I think you’ll agree that Adele and her husband came up with an utterly original idea to document baby Mila’s first year. Adele graciously agreed to chat with us over a virtual cup of tea—all the way from Helsinki, Finland!

“While my baby is taking her nap, I try to imagine her dream and capture it….” Such a lovely notion. Before we get to the interview, let’s take a look at beautiful baby Mila! I think you’ll agree that this photo series is just about the cutest thing ever.

Surfer Girl:

Her Super Pinkiness:

Nirvana:

A Space Odyssey 2010:

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman’s Baby:

Candyland:

A Little Ray of Sunshine:

ALIX: Hallo Adele! Thank you so much for chatting with us. OK, tell me….who is this beautiful baby?? We love her! Can you tell us how old Miss Mila is and is she your only child?

ADELE: Thank you! Mila Mau Natalie was born in May 2010, and she is now 2 months old. As you can guess, she is our first and only child. (At least for now!) She is a very happy and smiling baby who loves to eat and sleep and doesn’t cry much. Now that she has started cooing, she has actually taught US to speak. She has already taught me and the daddy how to say: “Guu” and “Hayyyy” so well. Haha!

ALIX: Hee. She sounds adorable. We know Mila is the star of the show, but I think everyone would love to know a little more about the amazing woman behind the scenes! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

ADELE: I’m 32 years old and I’m married to a most wonderful husband ever. I used to work as a copywriter at an ad agency, but right now I’m on my maternity leave—for at least couple of years. I feel that I want to be with my precious little family now, especially when Mila is so little. My husband is also a creative person, he’s a composer and his studio is in our home, so we get to be together every day. He’s very involved and a great father! Actually, he’s the first man that I could even think having babies with.

Meet the beautiful ADELE….the Woman Behind the Magical Photos:

ALIX: OK, you must tell me HOW did this amazing photo series come about?? And how often to do you take photos?

ADELE: I think all new parents go crazy with baby photos of their first child—maybe we are just a little bit crazier! I often found myself staring at the sleeping baby instead of sleeping myself. We wanted to capture our memories in photos but we found that we had a lot of pics where she sleeps. One day Mila fell asleep on the floor and my husband placed his conductor’s baton in her hand. She looked just like little fencer! So I got the idea from my hubby. The next day when she fell asleep, I built a little forest set with pillows and blankets over our living room rug and gently carried her to the middle of it. I quickly snapped some photos. Unlike you might think, she is not constantly sleeping on a floor! haha. I take pictures a few times per week, never more than one in a day, but I try to make at least one photo every week.

ALIX: Each photo is such a fun “moment.” How do you decide what the theme is going to be? I love how you use every day objects to create the scenes—do you use things around your home or do you buy props for each photo?

ADELE: Usually I get ideas from her clothes. While I’m dressing her in the morning, I start to create a scene in my mind. I use things from our home: rugs, blankets, curtains, scarves and even my clothes. I want to keep this photo hobby light and easy, so I don’t see myself buying things for this. It’s more fun to discover old stuff again, like you can see an elephant in your cardigan if you want.

ALIX: I really think this is one of the sweetest and most special ideas I’ve ever seen! Can I ask you, do the photos take a while to set up? Being a new mommy can keep you so busy, how do you find the time?

ADELE: Ideas can be cooking up the back of my head for a few days and in the meanwhile I do all that stuff like every mother does … lot’s of tiny laundry, cooking meals for the family, cleaning our house etc. When I’m about to execute idea, I’m ready, so it takes only a few minutes. Sometimes an idea just happens right away. Also, I have a lot of time to stare at our living room carpet while nursing my baby on the sofa surrounded by blankets and pillows.

ALIX: I think I already know the answer to this one, but how has motherhood been so far??

ADELE: SO LOVELY. The time of my life! I would say the only negative thing about this kind of love is fear, fear of losing. I’m so afraid of all the stupid things “what might happen” that I never been before. They are irrational fears like “oh my god, what if she falls out of an open window!!” when she is actually nowhere near the window. But really it is a special time. We truly live in love.

ALIX: Amazing. Thank you so much for spending this time with us Adele! (Or as Mila would say, “Guuu….Hayyyy!”) We can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

My Rocking Wardrobe rocks.

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I must admit that after being swamped by sci-fi wackiness for the past week, I was craving a little change of palette if you will–from all the space age/vampire/zombie/superhero/steampunk sassiness of Comic-Con.  Something the exact opposite.  I needed a large dose of truly girly girliness. Bring on the pretty flowers, the pink, the bows, the ruffles, the lace.

Bring on My Rocking Wardrobe. Now this wonderful site does carry a great selection of boys clothes as well as some sweet pieces for women too. But their collection of goodies for little girls is just breathtakingly darling.

As you can see below. Apple pockets on leggings with red polkadot cuffs? Or a perfect creamy puff-sleeved, peter pan collared bit of perfection with pig tails? Either way, my heart just smiled.

Even the socks are button cute. Little red riding hood and bunnies. Does it get any cuter?

Have you noticed the apron pinafore dress has returned with a vengeance this season?  But add gingham and ruffles and hearts on mine please.

You didn’t think a little doe could get any cuter, but then you add pink polka dots and a ruffle. Oh, and why not add a gingham waistband and sweet rose filled apron to a red skirt.  Just ignore that exploding sound–it’s only my head.  Exploding with cuteness that is!

Let’s take a closer look at those leggings shall we? I just found a new thing to obsess over. Strawberry leggings.

Ahh! This was just what the doctor ordered for me. And of course hugging and kissing the Peach.  Is there anything better than grabbing your little ones after being away and smelling their sun warmed hair and hearing them say mama mama mama mama? Nope there isn’t.

I’m so glad to be back to regular posting after a week away. Three cheers for Alix for holding down the fort with some amazing posts and her normal joie de vivre that I’m so very lucky to bask in on a daily basis.  I love ya to bits, Miss Alix. And gentle readers–all of you–it is such an honor to write for you all and thank you for your patience with me as I try to balance this jam-packed albeit lovely little life of mine and continuing to come back to our little nook of the Web.

It's time for Vintage Kiddo! The Weekly Retro Round Up.

Kiddo Style: Vintage, , ,

Yeee haw it’s Monday gang! Are we all ready for another peek into the World of Vintage Kiddo clothing? I totally love the 70s, but I know not everyone finds the cleverly kistchy vintage as relevant for ze modern child. This week I decided to search for some vintage that is still stylish and unique, but could also integrate easily into a modern day wardrobe.

You already know three of our top favorites: 3 Ring Circus,  Lishy Loo Vintage, and Frecklewonder.  This week we have a couple of new faces to add to our spotlight: Midstate Vintage and Oh Sydney.

The thing about vintage is that there is usually an abundance of baby and toddler clothes, but for bigger kiddos? WAY harder to find. The younguns grows so quickly, that their clothing isn’t worn nearly as much as those in the 4-8 year old set. That’s why I was thrilled to stumbled upon Midstate Vintage. All their clothing is in big kiddo sizes—and so adorable!

Those little high-waisted, sailor shorties are AMAZING. I can see those being sold in a modern day boutique.

The vintage stripey shirt is a classic look for little boys!

I love those two plaid dressies. And how cute are these little models! To see more, be sure to check out the Midstate Vintage shop.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are our friends over at Oh Sydney. This cutie has been featured on Vintage Kiddo before, and has an eye for the little guys and girlies.

That little paisley coat is a killer—how adorable with those big green buttons?? Be sure to swing by Oh Sydney to see even more goodies.

Whew, lots of good stuff today people! And I leave you with some of my non-clothing picks from our Vintage Kiddo All-Stars. First up is a really great Playskool wooden puzzle. These are really fun for kids (Wolfie had a bunch of them) and this Cookie Monster themed one is just so great! I love the spaghetti bird nest:

Lishy Loo Vintage: Cookie Monster Wooden Puzzle

Heather over at 3 Ring Circus has loads of amazing clothes but I was totally smitten with these cutie cute little plastic hair barrettes. Roller skates and guitar playing kitties?? Weeeee!


3 Ring Circus: vintage snap barettes

And finally, my girl Jenny over at Frecklewonder never fails to find the most terrific gems! I am sooo loving these really cool choo choo wall hangings. All aboard!!


Frecklewonder: Happy Nursery Train

HAPPY MONDAY everyone!